Thanks , is it to take birth in deva realm is superior than human realm than animal than ghost than hell ? Is there any mentioning that to assume male form supposed to be superior than female form ? Well, there are suttas which say that woman can't be Buddha, Maha Brahma, Sakka. In this sense it (m...

Hm. This is interesting. I guess this text was in Canon. Maybe in Vinaya (in Khandhakas)? Found this (non-theravadin): The Parable Sutra (T217.4.801) simplified, from Charles D. Patton's translation: This is how I heard it: Once, the Lord was staying in Jetàvana Grove, near the city of Shrivasta. At...

if i am aware of my surroundings, i feel my hands. That means the world is on my hands. If to wear cloves then it just a filter, you can still tell by the shape what object you touch, is that sense imaginary? Is sense of self imaginary if i feel it and can tell that it is self? Sense of self is not...

This is something that has been bothering me for a while. If Nibbana is the cessation of everything, then what’s the aim of the spiritual quest? Nothingness? Strange question from someone who's been studying Buddhism for decades. The aim is, obviously, the cessation of suffering (and no, not eterna...

Self (atta) is an (imaginary) unchanging entity of a particular being. Different people, though, may take different things as their "self". I recommend to read DN1 sutta which covers this question in details. Usually people think that "self" is their consciousness or their volition. Some deluded bud...

Laypeople should also plan to do intensive meditation retreats when they can, where they follow 8 precepts and meditate intently, relenquishing desires like video games at those times. This won't help with overcoming desires. Actually, I saw exactly opposite result of intensive meditation retreats,...

Do we find four stages of sainthood in Mahayana or Vajrayana? Yes, they are in there, because these religions are based on old buddhism and certain things remained. However, nobody cares about them as they are seen as useless rudiments, rather than real goals or at least variants of spiritual way. ...

For me, jhanas seem like side effects as we let go of discursive thinking and relax into the body. The agitation calms down and there is a sense of wholeness. Not that simple. First, Buddha said that jhanas are "acinteyya" - "unimaginable/unthinkable" thing, something you can't understand until you...

Is there a reason the Chinese text is by default considered corrupt when there is a conflict with the Pali? Why is it not the other way around? In this particular case it is corrupted simply because jhana idea is so central to Buddha's original teaching and many many times it is hinted that jhana i...

Why is non returning based on jhana? I've read that before, but I don't understand why jhana is specifically emphasised for non returning. Because of the clean and powerful mind. Only such jhanic mind can uproot these defilements. And you dont think that unpleasent feeling comes from hatered and pl...

Do you mean (the wisdom-liberated) arahant must attain up to the 'fourth' jhana, or at least one of the four jhanas (in the Pali tradition)? If you read MN 64 you might make a conclusion that at least 1st jhana is needed. However, if you read more suttas (and combine all the information together) y...